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{{Short description|U.S. federal aid program for low-income childcare}}
{{For|other uses|Head Start (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the experimental Air Force program|Operation Head Start}}
The '''Head Start Program''' is a program of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}
[[File:Washtenaw head start school superior township michigan.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Washtenaw County, Michigan]] Head Start school in [[Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan|Superior Township]]]]
{{Education in the U.S.}}


'''Head Start''' is a program of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] that provides comprehensive [[early childhood education]], health, [[nutrition]], and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the oldest and largest program of its kind.<ref name="2020demingreplication">{{Cite journal |last1=Pages |first1=Remy |last2=Lukes |first2=Dylan J. |last3=Bailey |first3=Drew H. |last4=Duncan |first4=Greg J. |date=December 2020 |title=Elusive Longer-Run Impacts of Head Start: Replications Within and Across Cohorts |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0162373720948884 |journal=Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis |language=en |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=471–492 |doi=10.3102/0162373720948884 |s2cid=85530116 |issn=0162-3737}}</ref> The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and [[emotional well-being]], and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from [[preschool]] to [[elementary school]] imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.<ref name=Difference1>{{cite journal |author1=McWayne, C. M., Cheung, K. |author2=Wright, L. |author3=Hahs-Vaughn, D.L. |author4=Thomas, D. P#20306090#rt?|title=Patterns of School Readiness Among Head Start Children: Meaningful Within-Group Variability During the Transition to Kindergarten |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-15961-001 |url-access=subscription | date = August 2012 | journal = [[Journal of Educational Psychology]] | volume = 104 | issue=3 | pages=862–878 |format= PDF |doi=10.1037/a0028884}}</ref>
Launched in 1965<ref name=Difference>{{cite journal | authors = Currie J, Thomas D. | year = 1995 | journal = American Economic Review | volume = 85 | issue = 3 | pages = 341–341 | url = http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/spring05/mcguem/psy8935/readings/currie1995.pdf |title=Does Head Start Make A Difference?}}</ref> by its creator and first director, [[Jule Sugarman]], Head Start was originally conceived as a quick catch-up summer school program that would teach low-income children in a few weeks what they needed to know to start kindergarten. <ref>Gonzalez-Mena, Janet. ''Child, Family, and Community'', Fifth Edition, Pearson Education, Inc., 2009, p. 350.</ref> It was later updated by the Head Start Act of 1981.<ref name=FDAMemo>FDA. [http://www.fda.gov/oc/mous/domestic/225-89-2000.html Memorandum of Understanding].</ref> It went through its most intense revisions in its latest reauthorization in December, 2007. It is one of the longest-running programs to address systemic poverty in the United States. {{as of|2005|alt=As of late 2005}}, more than 22 million pre-school aged children have participated in Head Start. The $6.8+ billion dollar budget for 2005 provided services to more than 905,000 children, 57% of whom were four years old or older, and 43% three years old or younger. Services were provided by 1,604 different programs operating more than 48,000 classrooms scattered across every state (and nearly every county) at an average cost of $7,222 per child. The staff consists of nearly 212,000 paid personnel in addition to six times as many volunteers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

[[Image:Washtenaw_head_start_school_superior_township_michigan.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Washtenaw County]] Head Start school, [[Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan|Superior Township, Michigan]]]]
Launched in 1965<ref name=Difference2>{{cite journal |author1=[[Janet Currie|Currie, J.]] |author2=Thomas, D. | year = 1995 | journal = American Economic Review | volume = 85 | issue = 3 | page = 341 | url = 376337693768** http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/spring05/mcguem/psy8935/readings/currie1995.pdf |title=Does Head Start Make A Difference? }}</ref> by its creator and first director [[Jule Sugarman]] and Bernice H. Fleiss, Head Start was originally conceived as a catch-up [[summer school]] program that would teach low-income children in a few weeks what they needed to know to start elementary school. The Head Start Act of 1981<ref name=FDAMemo>FDA. [https://www.fda.gov/oc/mous/domestic/225-89-2000.html Memorandum of Understanding].</ref> expanded the program.<ref name= CFC>{{cite book |last=Gonzalez-Mena |first=Janet |title=Child, Family, and Community |edition=Fifth |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2009 |isbn=978-0135132302}}</ref> The program was revised and reauthorized in December 2007. {{as of|2005|alt= As of late 2005}}, more than 22 million children had participated. As of June 30, 2023, the current director of Head Start is Dr. Khari Garvin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/about/leadership|title=ACF Home » Office of Head Start » About » Leadership|date=May 16, 2018|website=Administration for Children and Families|publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services|access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref>
==Mission statement==
{{toclimit|3}}
Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enroll children and families.<ref>[E:\ACF Office of Public Affairs (OPA) Fact Sheet - Head Start Bureau (HSB).mht].</ref>


==History==
==History==
[[File:Lady Bird Johnson Visiting a Classroom for Project Head Start 1966.gif|thumbnail|First Lady [[Lady Bird Johnson]] visits a Head Start class in 1966]]
Head Start was started as part of President [[Lyndon Johnson]]'s [[War on Poverty]] and [[Great Society]]. It was modeled on the [[Little School of the 400]]. The [[Economic Opportunity Act of 1964]] had a single line authorizing the program,<ref name=Zigler1994>Zigler E, Muenchow S. (1994). Head Start, [http://books.google.com/books?id=BHT2iuaIsF4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA8,M1 p. 8]. Basic Books.</ref> and the Act gave broad powers to the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]],<ref name=Zigler1994/> which began the program. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 also addressed preschool education.<ref>Vinovskis M. (2005). The Birth of Head Start. University of Chicago Press.</ref> In 1968, "Head Start begins funding a program that will eventually be called [[Sesame Street]]. It is a Carnegie Corporation Preschool Television Show".<ref>http://www.gopb.org/History.htm</ref>


Head Start began as part of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] campaign. Its justification came from the staff of the President's [[Council of Economic Advisers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Vinovskis |first=Maris A. |year=2005 |title=The Birth of Head Start |url=https://archive.org/details/birthheadstartpr00vino |url-access=limited |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/birthheadstartpr00vino/page/n48 36]–37 |isbn=978-0226856728}}</ref> [[Stan Salett]], civil rights organizer, national education policy adviser, and creator of the [[Upward Bound]] Program, is also credited with initiating the Head Start program.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
The [[Office of Economic Opportunity]]'s Community Action Program launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. The project was designed to help end poverty by providing preschool children from low-income families with a program that would meet emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. The following year it was authorized by Congress as a fully-funded year-round program. In 1981, the Head Start Act was passed.<ref name=FDAMemo/>


Johnson started the [[War on Poverty]] shortly after President Kennedy's assassination. The murder shook the nation, and Johnson attempted to gain public trust by passing legacy legislation during the subsequent months. Johnson received an initial briefing from [[Walter Heller]], who informed Johnson of Kennedy's poverty program. By March 1964, the legislation, now known as the [[Economic Opportunity Act of 1964]], had been prepared for Congress. The legislation included training, educational, and service programs for communities, including the [[Job Corps]].<ref>{{citation| url = http://presidentialrecordings.rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/essays?series=WarOnPoverty| title = Lyndon B. Johnson and the War on Poverty| access-date = April 30, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150516224047/http://presidentialrecordings.rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/essays?series=WarOnPoverty| archive-date = May 16, 2015| url-status = dead}}</ref>
Head Start was then transferred to the Office of [[Child Development]] in the Department of [[Welfare]] (later the [[HHS|Department of Health and Human Services]]) by the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon Administration]] in 1969. Today it is a program within the [[Administration for Children and Families]] (ACF) in the HHS. In FY 1994, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to three years of age in recognition of the mounting evidence that the earliest years matter a great deal to children's growth and development. Programs are administered locally by non-profit organizations and local education agencies such as school systems. Head Start is a program for children age 3 to 5 in the United States.


The [[Office of Economic Opportunity]]'s [[Community Action Program]] launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. The program was led by Dr. Robert Cooke, a pediatrician at [[Johns Hopkins University]], and [[Edward Zigler|Dr. Edward Zigler]], a professor of psychology and director of the [[Yale Child Study Center]]. They designed a comprehensive child development program intended to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. Rather than proceeding with a smaller pilot program, the decision was made to roll it out on a large scale with the enrollment of 500,000 children in 2,500 communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jule Sugarman, Head Start Founder, Dies at 83|url=https://nonprofitquarterly.org/jule-sugarman-head-start-founder-dies-at-83/}}</ref> The following year it was authorized by Congress as a year–round program. In 1968, Head Start began funding a television series that would eventually be called ''[[Sesame Street]]'', operated by the [[Carnegie Corporation]] [[Children's Television Workshop]] (CTW).{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}


In 1969, Head Start was transferred to the Office of [[Child Development]] in the [[Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] (later the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] (DHHS)) by the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon Administration]]. Today the program is in the [[Administration for Children and Families]] (ACF) division of DHHS.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Programs==
*'''Early Head Start'''{{ndash}}Promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, promotes healthy family the development of infants and toddlers beginning as young as newborn infants.
*'''Head Start'''{{ndash}}Helps to create healthy development in low-income children ages three to five. Programs offer a wide variety of services that depend on a child's and each family's heritage and experience, to influence all aspects of a child's development and learning.
*'''Family and Community Partnerships'''{{ndash}}Head Start offers parents opportunities and support as they identify and meet their own goals, nurture the development of their children in the context of their family and culture, and advocate for communities that are supportive of children and families of all cultures. The building of trusting, collaborative relationships between parents and staff allows them to share with and to learn from one another.<ref name="acf.hhs.gov">http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/headstart_factsheet.html</ref>
*'''Migrant and Seasonal Head Start'''{{ndash}}Provides Head Start services to children of migrant and seasonal farm workers who meet income and other eligibility guidelines. Services are for children from six-months to five-years of age. Because of the nature of the work done by the families, the hours of services are longer and the length of program is shorter (fewer months) than traditional Head Start services.
*'''American Indian-Alaska Native Head Start'''{{ndash}}Provides American Indian and Alaska Native children and families with services such as: health care, educational, nutritional, socialization, as well as other services promoting school readiness. Services are primarily for disadvantaged preschool children, and infants and toddlers.


In 1994, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to age three, in an effort to capitalize on research evidence that showed that the first three years are critical to children's long-term development.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Services==
Head Start provides education, health and social services to eligible families with the goal of ensuring the children enrolled are ready to start school. Education includes pre-school education to nationally set standards that have become the de-facto standards{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} for pre-school in the USA. Health services include screenings, health check-ups and dental check-ups. Social services provide family advocates to work with parents and assist them in accessing community resources.


In the early years, some 700,000 children enrolled at a per-capita cost of $2,000 to $3,000 (2011 dollars). Under the full-time program, enrollment dropped to under 400,000 by the early 1970s. Enrollment reached close to 1 million children by 2011. The program has experienced underfunding and under-enrollment in recent years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-15 |title=Biden-Harris Administration Proposes New Rule to Strengthen the Head Start Workforce, Increase Wages & Support Quality Programming |url=https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/11/15/biden-harris-admin-proposes-new-rule-to-strengthen-the-head-start-workforce-increase-wages-support-quality-programming.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=www.hhs.gov}}</ref> In 2023, there were about 820,000 children enrolled in the program.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollingsworth |first=Heather |date=2023-09-29 |title=Looming shutdown rattles families who rely on Head Start program for disadvantaged children |url=https://apnews.com/article/head-start-preschool-shutdown-budget-congress-199fcb7da90479e3f4dc3b17f6b07c43 |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=AP News}}</ref>
Eligibility for Head Start services is largely income-based (100% of the [[Poverty in the United States|federal poverty level]]), though each locally-operated program includes other eligibility criteria such as disabilities and services to other family members. Up to 10% of any funded program's enrollment can be from over-income families or families experiencing emergency situations, but with the latest Head Start Act there was a provision to offer an option to serve children from 100 to 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. All programs are required to provide full services to children with disabilities (10% of their total enrollment).


== Policy Council ==
An important update to the Head Start re-authorization signed by President Bush on December 12, 2007 is the importance of Head Start to serve the homeless children in America. Homelessness is defined as a child "who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." This includes not only the typical homeless child in a shelter or other outreach program, or those living in motels or cars but also the children who are living in a "sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason." (http://www.naehcy.org). These homeless children must be sought out by the local Head Start and have to be served within a reasonable time frame. Head Start programs must communicate with the local school districts to help in providing services to the younger siblings of those the school has identified as homeless as well as helping older siblings of the preschool children Head Start has identified.
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}
The Head Start Policy Council makes up part of the Head Start governing body. Policy Council must be composed of two types of representatives: parents of currently enrolled children and community representatives. At least 51% of the members of this group must be the parents of currently enrolled children (see 45 CFR 1306.3(h) for a definition of a Head Start Parent). All parent members of the Policy Council stand for election or re-election annually through individual parent groups. Grantees/Delegates are required to provide proportionate representation to parents in all program options and settings. If agencies operate programs serving different geographical regions or ethnic groups, they must ensure that all groups being served will have an equal opportunity to serve on the Policy Council. The Policy Council is required to meet once each month. The term follows the federal government fiscal year, running November–November. Service on the Policy Council board is limited to at most five one year terms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Head Start Program Performance Standards Part 1301 — Program Governance |url=https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/45-cfr-chap-xiii/1301-3-policy-council-policy-committee |website=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Administration for Children & Families |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> The meetings are conducted in accordance with [[Robert's Rules]]. The meeting day and time is agreed upon during the first meeting of the term year and may be adjusted as needed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}


The Policy Council approval is needed for several program functions, from new hires to the program, as well as for the budget and spending. The Council can serve the program in ways that the others in the program cannot, as it is the only body that is part of Head Start that can do fundraising. In addition to monthly meetings, Policy Council may at times need to hold special or emergency meetings or have a phone vote. Policy Council representatives are required to attend classroom meetings and report back to the Policy Council with issues and needs of the classroom. They may also be asked to sit in on interviews as Head Start requires that a Policy Council representative be present for all interviews. The officers of Policy Council include vice-chairperson, secretary, and vice-secretary. Classrooms are also able to elect alternate Policy Council reps in case the main rep is unable to attend the meetings.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Funding==
Grants are awarded by the ACF Regional Offices and the Office of Head Start's American Indian - Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal Program Branches directly to local public agencies, private organizations, Indian Tribes and school systems for the purpose of operating Head Start programs at the community level.<ref name="acf.hhs.gov"/>


== Services and programs ==
==Qualifications of teachers==
Head Start serves over 1 million children and their families each year in urban and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories. Related health services include health screenings and check-ups, [[eye examination]]s and dental check-ups. Meals and snacks are also provided, which can help ease financial pressure on families and improve children's diets. Family advocates assist parents in accessing community resources. All services are specific to each family's culture and experience. Head Start programs also seek to support children's social emotional development.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Section 648A of the Head Start Act<ref>[http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/legislation/HS_act.html#648A Head Start Act Section 648A]</ref> lays out guidelines for the training of Head Start teachers and aides. In 2007, the section was revised to mandate that all teachers must have associates degrees in a related field by 2013, and half must have bachelor's degrees.<ref>Washington Post. (2007). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111401478.html Bill to Expand Head Start, Bolster Its Teacher Qualifications Is Approved].</ref> As of 2003, the average Head Start teacher made only $21,000 per year, compared to the $43,000 that public school teachers made.<ref>[http://nieer.org/resources/facts/index.php?FastFactID=12 NIEER Fact Sheet on Head Start Teachers – July 2003].</ref>
As of 2009, the average teacher makes $26,000 per year.


Programs and services include:{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Effectiveness==
* Early Head Start promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, healthy families, as well as infant and toddler development beginning as early as birth.
Reports on the long-term effectiveness of Head Start are mixed.
* Head Start helps to create healthy development and early childhood education in low-income children ages three to five.
* Family and Community Partnerships engage and support parents to identify and meet their own goals, nurture their children, and advocate for communities that support children and families.
* Migrant and Seasonal services are for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Service hours are longer and programs extend for fewer months than traditional Head Start.
* Head Start serves indigenous Americans with centers on reservations and in urban communities.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/| title = The Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/states/aian |title=American Indian and Alaska Native |access-date=March 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317054838/https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/states/aian |archive-date=March 17, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Homeless children were included explicitly as subjects with the 2007 re-authorization.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.naehcy.org | title = NAEHCY}}</ref> Programs must identify and provide services to homeless children of all ages within a reasonable period. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg116.html|title=Part C - Homeless Education|website=US Department of Education}}</ref> also requires access to early childhood education such as Head Start for homeless children and families.


== Eligibility ==
===Reports and statements supportive of Head Start===
Eligibility is largely income-based, although each local program includes other eligibility criteria, such as disabilities and services needed by other family members. Families must earn less than 100% of the [[Poverty in the United States|federal poverty level]]. Programs may accept up to 10% of the total children over poverty given the program has unfilled spots and the over poverty is less than 130%.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="2" |2023 Federal Poverty Level<ref>{{Cite web|title=HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2023 - HealthCare.gov Glossary|url=https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/|access-date=2023-05-30|website=aspe.hhs.gov|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Family Size
|Income
|-
|2
|$19,720
|-
|3
|$24,860
|-
|4
|$30,000
|-
|5
|$35,140
|-
|6
|$40,280
|-
|7
|$45,420
|-
|8
|$50,560
|}
The federal poverty line measure is not absolute, and it changes yearly to account for inflation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyond the Poverty Line (SSIR)|url=https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references|access-date=2023-05-30|website=aspe.hhs.gov|language=en-us}}</ref> Families may also qualify under a categorical eligibility category—receipt of [[Temporary Assistance to Needy Families]] (TANF) funds, [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]] (SNAP),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/im/acf-im-hs-22-03 | title=Head Start Categorical Eligibility for Families Eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program &#124; ECLKC | date=April 20, 2022 }}</ref> Supplemental Security funds, or Homeless, as per the [[McKinney-Vento Act]]. Up to 10% of any funded program's enrollment can be from higher income families or families experiencing emergency situations. All programs are required to provide services to children with disabilities, who must comprise 10% of their total enrollment. Per the Head Start Act (2007), programs may elect to serve families whose income is between 100-130% under certain circumstances. Programs must also complete additional reporting requirements if this is appropriate for their community.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}


Military families stationed abroad can apply for Sure Start.<ref name="Communications">{{Cite web|last=Communications|first=DoDEA|title=Preschool|url=https://www.dodea.edu/curriculum/preschool/index.cfm|access-date=2021-04-10|website=www.dodea.edu|language=en-us}}</ref> Sure Start is the military version of Head Start and is overseen by the Department of Defense Education Activity.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-12|title=Sure Start for Military Children|url=https://www.militaryonesource.mil/education-employment/for-children-and-youth/pre-k-to-12-education/get-your-child-the-right-start-with-sure-start/|access-date=2021-04-10|website=Military OneSource|language=en-US}}</ref> There are four priority tiers for Sure Start, and like Head Start, not all eligible families are guaranteed a spot. The tiers are based on the sponsor's rank and are, in order, E1-E4, E5, E6-E7, and E8-E9.<ref name="Communications"/>
According to Datta (Datta, 1976 & Lee et al.,1990) who summarized 31 studies, the program showed immediate improvement in the IQ scores of participating children, though after beginning school, the non-participants were able to narrow the difference. Garces, Thomas, and Currie used data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to review outcomes for close to 4,000 adults followed from childhood. Among European-Americans, adults who attended Head Start as children were, relative to their siblings who did not, significantly more likely to complete high school, attend college, and possibly have higher earnings in their early twenties. African-American adults who had attended Head Start were significantly less likely to be booked or charged for a crime than were their siblings who had not been enrolled. Evidence also suggested that Head Start may increase the likelihood that African American males will graduate from high school. In addition, the authors noted larger effects for younger siblings who attended Head Start after an older sibling. <ref>''Longer-Term Effects of Head Start'' Eliana Garces, Duncan Thomas, Janet Currie The American Economic Review, Vol. 92, No. 4 (Sep., 2002), pp. 999–1012</ref> Head Start is associated with large and significant gains in test scores. Head Start significantly reduces the probability that a child will repeat a grade.<ref name=Difference/> Recent criticisms of Project Head Start have resulted in plans to improve program services and to expand in a more thoughtful manner to make the program more responsive to the needs of children and families. New directions include expansion below and beyond the ages previously served by Head Start.<ref>''Head Start: Criticisms in a Constructive Context.'' Zigler, Edward; Styfco, Sally J. ''American Psychologist'', v49 n2 pp. 127–32 Feb 1994</ref>


===Reports and statements with "mixed reviews" of Head Start===


Currie and Thomas<ref>[http://lrainc.com/swtaboo/taboos/headst01.html] (1995)</ref> try to control for many family background factors. The analysis is based on within-family data, comparing children in Head Start with their siblings who were not in Head Start. Also, mothers who were themselves enrolled in Head Start were compared to their adult sisters who were not. Currie and Thomas analyzed groups separately by ethnicity: White, Black and Hispanic. White children, who were the most disadvantaged, showed larger and longer lasting improvements than black children.


{| class="wikitable sortable"
Not all studies support the claim that Head Start is effective when measured by long-term gain. Many researchers acknowledge that Head Start appears to make a significant educational impact early-on but argue that these benefits quickly fade. This phenomenon known as “Head Start Fade” begins to show itself as early as second and third grade when students who attended Head Start programs begin to fall behind their non-participant peers. The concept of “ Head Start Fade” leaves government officials and educators left wondering what can be done beyond the preschool years to perpetuate the early gains made by enrollment in Head Start programs.
|+ HHS POVERTY REGISTER<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references|title=Prior HHS Poverty Guidelines and Federal Register References|website=ASPE}}</ref>
For a more thorough exploration of this argument see:
|-
! YEAR !! First Person !! Each Additional Person !! Four Person Family !! Page with Complete Details
|-
| 2023 || $14,580|| $5,140|| ($30,000)|| Federal Register 2023
|-
|2022 || $13,590 || $4,720 || ($27,750) || Federal Register 2022
|-
|2021 || $12,880 || $4,540 || ($26,500) || Federal Register 2021
|-
|2020 || $12,760 || $4,480 || ($26,200) || Federal Register 2020
|-
|2019 || $12,490 || $4,420 || ($25,750) || Federal Register 2019
|-
|2018 || $12,140 || $4,320 || ($25,100) || Federal Register 2018
|-
|2017 || $12,060 || $4,180 || ($24,600) || Federal Register 2017
|-
|2016 || $11,880 || Varies || ($24,300) || Federal Register 2016
|-
|2015 || $11,770 || $4,160 || ($24,250) || Federal Register 2015
|-
|2014 || $11,670 || $4,060 || ($23,850) || Federal Register 2014
|-
|2013 || $11,490 || $4,020 || ($23,550) || Federal Register 2013
|-
|2012 || $11,170 || $3,960 || ($23,050) || Federal Register 2012
|-
|2011 || 10,890 || 3,820 || ( 22,350) || Federal Register 2011
|-
|2010 || 10,830 || 3,740 || ( 22,050) || Federal Register 2010 (Jan)Federal Register 2010 (Aug)
|-
|2009 || 10,830 || 3,740 || ( 22,050) || Federal Register 2009
|-
|2008 || 10,400 || 3,600 || ( 21,200) || Federal Register 2008
|-
|2007 || 10,210 || 3,480 || ( 20,650) || Federal Register 2007
|-
|2006 || 9,800 || 3,400 || ( 20,000) || Federal Register 2006
|-
|2005 || 9,570 || 3,260 || ( 19,350) || Federal Register 2005
|-
|2004 || 9,310 || 3,180 || ( 18,850) || Federal Register 2004
|-
|2003 || 8,980 || 3,140 || ( 18,400) || Federal Register 2003
|-
|2002 || 8,860 || 3,080 || ( 18,100) || Federal Register 2002
|-
|2001 || 8,590 || 3,020 || ( 17,650) || Federal Register 2001
|-
|2000 || 8,350 || 2,900 || ( 17,050) || Federal Register 2000
|-
|1999 || 8,240 || 2,820 || ( 16,700) || Federal Register 1999
|-
|1998 || 8,050 || 2,800 || ( 16,450) || Federal Register 1998
|-
|1997 || 7,890 || 2,720 || ( 16,050) || Federal Register 1997
|-
|1996 || 7,740 || 2,620 || ( 15,600) || Federal Register 1996
|-
|1995 || 7,470 || 2,560 || ( 15,150) || Federal Register 1995
|-
|1994 || 7,360 || 2,480 || ( 14,800) || Federal Register 1994
|-
|1993 || 6,970 || 2,460 || ( 14,350) || Federal Register 1993
|-
|1992 || 6,810 || 2,380 || ( 13,950) || Federal Register 1992
|-
|1991 || 6,620 || 2,260 || ( 13,400) || Federal Register 1991
|-
|1990 || 6,280 || 2,140 || ( 12,700) || Federal Register 1990
|-
|1989 || 5,980 || 2,040 || ( 12,100) || Federal Register 1989
|-
|1988 || 5,770 || 1,960 || ( 11,650) || Federal Register 1988
|-
|1987 || 5,500 || 1,900 || ( 11,200) || Federal Register 1987
|-
|1986 || 5,360 || 1,880 || ( 11,000) || Federal Register 1986
|-
|1985 || 5,250 || 1,800 || ( 10,650) || Federal Register 1985
|-
|1984 || 4,980 || 1,740 || ( 10,200) || Federal Register 1984
|-
|1983 || 4,860 || 1,680 || ( 9,900) || Federal Register 1983
|-
|1982 || 4,680 || 1,540 || ( 9,300) || Federal Register 1982


|}
1) Where Do Head Start Attendees End up? One Reason Why Preschool Effects Fade out
Valerie E. Lee, Susanna Loeb Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp.&nbsp;62–82 doi:10.2307/1164270
2) Does Head Start Fade Out?
S. Barnett (1993), Education Week, 5, 40
3) Long Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Cognitive and School Outcomes.
S. Barnett (1995, Winter), The Future of Children, 5(3), 25–50


== Budget and funding ==
Magnuson, Ruhm, and Waldfogel<ref>[http://www.nber.org/digest/mar05/w10452.html] (2004)</ref> conclude that early education does increase reading and mathematics skills at school entry. However, the study also found that, in contrast to the general population in pre-kindergarten, disadvantaged children and those attending schools with "low levels of academic instruction" get the largest and most lasting academic gains from early education.
The 2011 federal budget for Head Start was $8.1 billion. 85% was to be devoted to direct services and no more than 15% on administration, serving approximately one million students. The budget was $12 billion in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seitz |first=Amanda |date=2023-11-22 |title=Biden's plan would raise salaries for Head Start teachers but could leave fewer spots for kids |url=https://apnews.com/article/preschool-salaries-teacher-pay-shortage-head-start-e3febfb16815517cef8399418ae369c6 |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=AP News}}</ref>


Local grantees must provide a 20% cash/in-kind match.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lubeck|first1=Sally|last2=DeVries|first2=Mary|last3=Nicholson|first3=Julie|last4=Post|first4=Jackie|date=July 1997|title=Head Start in Transition|journal=Early Education & Development|language=en|volume=8|issue=3|pages=219–244|doi=10.1207/s15566935eed0803_2|issn=1040-9289}}</ref> Each local grantee is required to obtain an annual financial audit, if it receives more than $500,000 in federal support.
===Congressional Impact Study===


Grants are awarded by the [[Administration for Children and Families]] (ACF) Regional Offices and the American Indian – Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal Program Branches directly to local public agencies, private organizations, Indian tribes and school systems.<ref name="acf.hhs.gov">{{citation | publisher = U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | title = Head Start factsheet | url = http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/headstart_factsheet.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100115192748/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/headstart_factsheet.html | archive-date = 2010-01-15 }}</ref>
Congress mandated an intensive study of the effectiveness of Head Start, the "Head Start Impact Study", which has issued a series of reports on the design and study of a target population of 5000 3- and 4- year old children.<ref name="hsis-final">http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/</ref>


The individual Head Start classrooms/centers "repay" the grant through a program known as InKind. The Inkind program is a way to get their parents and their students working together on out of class studies.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Earlier Head Start Impact Study First Year Findings were released in June 2005, and the Executive Summary is available from Health and Human Services.<ref>http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/reports/first_yr_execsum/first_yr_execsum.pdf</ref> The study participants, beginning in fall 2002, were assigned to either the Head Start program or other parent-selected community resources for one year only. Of the children in the control group, 60% were placed in other pre-schools. Thus, the study measured Head Start's effectiveness as compared to a variety of other forms of community support and educational intervention, as opposed to comparing Head Start to a non-intervention alternative. The results of the first report showed consistent small to moderate advantages to children from participating in Head Start programs rather than other programs, with a few areas where no advantage was reported. The benefits improved with early participation and varied among racial and ethnic groups.


== Teachers ==
===Reports and statements critical of Head Start===
All lead teachers must have a bachelor's degree or be working towards one. Most have completed six or more courses in early-childhood education.<ref name=nj14/> By 2013, all teachers were to have [[associate of arts|associate degrees]] in a related field and half must have [[Bachelor of Arts|bachelor's degrees]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Glod |first=Maria |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 15, 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111401478.html |title= Bill to Expand Head Start, Bolster Its Teacher Qualifications Is Approved |access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/legislation/HS_act.html#648A|title=Head Start Act Section 648A|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012013719/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/legislation/HS_act.html#648A|archive-date=2008-10-12}}</ref>


As of 2003, the average Head Start teacher made $21,000 per year, compared to the public school teacher average of $43,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nieer.org/resources/facts/index.php?FastFactID=12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027053910/http://nieer.org/resources/facts/index.php?FastFactID=12 |url-status=dead |title=NIEER Fact Sheet on Head Start Teachers – July 2003|archive-date=October 27, 2008}}</ref>
Another issue has been that according to the most widely cited source supporting Head Start, children who finish the program and are placed into disadvantaged schools perform worse than their peers by second grade. Only by continuing to isolate these children (such as dispersing and sending them to better-performing school districts) can the gains be captured.<ref>Administrative History of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Vol. I, p.252, Box 1, LBJ Library.</ref>
In an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, "Head Start Falls Further Behind," Besharov and Call discuss the finding of an 1998 evaluation of the Head Start program and how it led to a rigorous national evaluation of the program. The authors stated that research concluded that the current program had little meaningful impact. However, they did not cite primary sources. <ref>Beshrov Douglas, Call Douglas. "Head Start Falls Further Behind". New York Times</ref>


Teachers are also required to complete a (CDA) [[Child Development Associate]] certificate.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
[[Steven D. Levitt]] and Stephen J. Dubner, authors of ''[[Freakonomics]],'' conclude that Head Start participation has no lasting effect on test scores in the early years of school, based on [[regression analysis]] of data from the [http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/ Early Childhood Longitudinal Study]. Levitt, one of the authors of ''Freakonomics'', and Fryer come to the same conclusion in one 2004 paper they wrote.<ref>http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/FryerLevittUnderstandingTheBlack2004.pdf</ref>

== Operations ==
While Head Start is a national program, the [[Early childhood education in the United States|implementation]] is up to individual states.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burger|first=K.|date=2012-04-03|title=A Social History of Ideas Pertaining to Childcare in France and in the United States|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shr144|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=45|issue=4|pages=1005–1025|doi=10.1093/jsh/shr144|issn=0022-4529}}</ref> Head Start programs typically operate independently from local school districts. Most often they are administered through local social-services agencies. Classes are generally small, with fewer than ten enrollees per adult staff member. Individual programs develop their own academic and social curricula, following federal performance standards.<ref name=nj14>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-dubious-promise-of-universal-preschool |title=The Dubious Promise of Universal Preschool > Publications > |publisher=National Affairs |date=2013-12-20 |access-date=2014-04-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408212309/http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-dubious-promise-of-universal-preschool |archive-date=2014-04-08 }}</ref>

== Impact ==
{{Primary sources section
| date = May 2024
}}[[File:Angel Taveras speaks about how Head Start impacted his life.ogg|thumb|[[Angel Taveras]] speaks about how Head Start changed his life as a child.]]
A 2020 study found that cohorts that attended Head Start had higher incomes and years of education as adults than similar children who did not attend.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=De Haan|first1=Monique|last2=Leuven|first2=Edwin|date=2019-09-03|title=Head Start and the Distribution of Long-Term Education and Labor Market Outcomes|journal=Journal of Labor Economics|volume=38|issue=3|pages=727–765|doi=10.1086/706090|issn=0734-306X|hdl=10852/74324|s2cid=44049841|url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-77437 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> A 2021 study found that the children exposed to more generous Head Start funding had substantially improved test scores relative to children that were not exposed to generous Head Start funding.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kose|first=Esra|date=2021|title=Public Investments in Early Childhood Education and Academic Performance: Evidence from Head Start in Texas|url=http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2021/08/31/jhr.0419-10147R2|journal=Journal of Human Resources|page=0419 |language=en|doi=10.3368/jhr.0419-10147R2|s2cid=231906512 |issn=0022-166X}}</ref> Another 2021 study found that students enrolled in Head Start ended up having substantially higher high school completion, college enrollment and college completion rates than comparable children who were not enrolled in Head Start.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Bailey|first1=Martha J.|last2=Sun|first2=Shuqiao|last3=Timpe|first3=Brenden|date=2021|title=Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency|journal=American Economic Review|language=en|volume=111|issue=12|pages=3963–4001|doi=10.1257/aer.20181801|pmid=35418710 |pmc=9005064 |issn=0002-8282}}</ref> The authors of the study concluded, "these estimates imply sizable, long-term returns to investments in means-tested, public preschool programs."<ref name=":1" /> A 2009 study, which compared siblings, found that those who attended Head Start showed stronger academic performance as shown on test scores for years afterward, were less likely to be diagnosed as learning-disabled, less likely to commit crime, more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, and less likely to suffer from poor health as an adult.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Deming|first1=D.|year=2009|title=Early Childhood Intervention and Life-Cycle Skill Development: Evidence from Head Start|url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12305831/Deming_HeadStart_AEJfinal.pdf?sequence=1|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=1|issue=3|pages=111–134|doi=10.1257/app.1.3.111|doi-access=free}}</ref> This study was replicated in a 2020 study which looked at 10 additional birth cohorts, and found a negligible impact.<ref name="2020demingreplication" />

A 2022 study found that Head Start increased the employment and earnings of single mothers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wikle |first1=Jocelyn |last2=Wilson |first2=Riley |date=2022 |title=Access to Head Start and Maternal Labor Supply: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Evidence |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/720980 |journal=Journal of Labor Economics |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=1081–1127 |language=en |doi=10.1086/720980 |issn=0734-306X|hdl=10419/250541 |s2cid=232045060 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In 2015, CCR Analytics, formerly Child Care Analytics, published the results of their Family Outcomes Survey completed by nearly 11,600 California Head Start and [[Early Head Start]] parents. 90% of parents surveyed said that Head Start helped them to get or keep a job. 92% of parents surveyed said that Head Start helped them to enroll in an educational or training program. 99% of families surveyed said that Head Start helped them to improve their parenting skills, such as responding to children's misbehavior and helping their children to learn. These results indicate that Head Start has a positive impact on the whole family, beyond the individual children who attend the program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ccr-analytics.com/familyoutcomes2015|title=Family Outcomes Bulletin 2015|website=CCR Analytics}}</ref>

In 2014, CCR Analytics published the results of their study of 49,467 children assessed in the 2012–2013 school year from 81 Head Start programs throughout the state of California (more than 50% of the entire California Head Start population). Participation in the study was open to all California Head Start programs who used the DRDP-PS 2010 assessment tool. The study found that providing two years of Head Start to a child increases the probability by between 13% and 86% that the child will meet age appropriate expectations. [[Regression discontinuity design]] was used to measure program impact without denying a [[control group]] the opportunity to attend Head Start. The analysis compared three-year-olds enrolled in Head Start to four-year-olds who returned to Head Start for their second year. This also eliminated the issue of [[selection bias]] because both groups chose to attend Head Start as three-year-olds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ccr-analytics.com/bulletin2014|title=2014 Child Outcomes Bulletin}}</ref>

A randomized control study of the pre-k program serving socioeconomically disadvantaged children in Tennessee found short-term gains in language, literacy and math outcomes for pre-k participants compared with children who did not participate, which was also confirmed by a discontinuity analysis (Lip, Farran, Bilbrey, Hofer, & Dong, 2011).{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Lee collected data across sixty Head Start classrooms in 2007 and 2008. A sample of 1,260 children ages three to four were selected as the final sample. Of these children, 446 had entered Head Start at age 3 and enrolled for a year (Group 1); 498 had been entered at age 4 and enrolled for a year (Group 2); and 316 children had been enrolled for 2 years, entering at age 3 (Group 3). Academic outcome measures in literacy, math and science were collected based on the Head Start and Early Childhood Program Observational Checklist rating on a 4-point scale (1—not yet to 4—excels. Family risk factor indicators (developed by the State Department of Education) included single parent, unemployed parent, teenage parent, parental loss (divorce/death), low parental school achievement, food insufficiency. Group 3 had higher literacy, math and science scores than the other groups. Children in the high-risk group had significantly lower literacy, math, and science scores than those who had three or fewer risk factors. Head Start is associated with significant gains in test scores. Head Start significantly reduces the probability that a child will repeat a grade.<ref name=Difference3>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1002/jcop.20462 |title=Impacts of the duration of Head Start enrollment on children's academic outcomes: Moderation effects of family risk factors and earlier outcomes |journal=Journal of Community Psychology |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=698–716 |year=2011 |last1=Lee |first1=K.}}</ref>

In 2002, Garces, Thomas and Currie used data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to review outcomes for close to 4,000 participating adults followed from childhood and compared with non-participant siblings. Among European Americans, adults who had attended Head Start were significantly more likely to complete high school, attend college and possibly have higher earnings in their early twenties. African-American adults who had attended Head Start were significantly less likely to be booked/charged for a crime. Head Start may increase the likelihood that African-American males graduate from high school. Separately the authors noted larger effects for younger siblings who attended Head Start after an older sibling.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Eliana Garces |author2=Duncan Thomas |author3=Janet Currie |title=Longer-Term Effects of Head Start |journal=The American Economic Review |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages=999–1012 |date=September 2002 |doi=10.1257/00028280260344560|citeseerx=10.1.1.196.91|s2cid=12458311 }}</ref>

In 1998, Congress mandated an intensive study of the effectiveness of Head Start, the "Head Start Impact Study," which studied a target population of 5,000 3- and 4-year-old children.<ref name="hsis-final">{{citation |url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/ |title=Impact study |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services}}</ref> The study measured Head Start's effectiveness as compared to other forms of community support and educational intervention, as opposed to comparing Head Start to a nonintervention alternative. Head Start Impact Study First Year Findings were released in June 2005. Study participants were assigned to either Head Start or other parent–selected community resources for one year. 60% of the children in the control group were placed in other preschools. The first report showed consistent small to moderate advantages to 3-year-old children including pre-reading, pre-vocabulary and parent reports of children's literacy skills. No significant impacts were found for oral comprehension, phonological awareness, or early mathematics skills for either age group. Fewer positive benefits were found for 4-year-olds. The benefits improved with early participation and varied across racial and ethnic groups. These analyses did not assess the benefits' durability.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/reports/first_yr_execsum/first_yr_execsum.pdf |title=First year executive summary |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services}}</ref>

In 1975, Seitz, Abelson, Levine and Zigler compared disadvantaged children enrolled and not enrolled in Head Start, using the [[Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test]] (PPVT). The participants were low-income inner-city black children whose unemployed, economically disadvantaged parents were considered unskilled. The Head Start children had attended for at least five months at the time of testing, including nine boys and 11 girls. The non-enrolled group was on the Head Start waiting list. The control group consisted of 11 boys and nine girls. The groups were matched by family income, parental employment and marital status. The tester tested children at home and in a school or office setting. The Head Start children scored higher than the controls in both settings, which suggested preschool intervention programs may have influenced the result. The controls tested at home scored the lowest, apparently due to anxiety from having an unfamiliar person in their homes. The Head Start children were unaffected by the environmental factor. In evaluating this study vs. others, the relatively small sample size should be noted: 20 children vs. thousands in other studies.<ref name="wiley.com">Seitz, V. Abelson, W., Levine, E. & Zigler, E.[http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/ "Effects of place of testing on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores of disadvantaged Head Start and non-Head Start children"], ''Child Development'', 1975</ref>

A 2005 review of the literature by Barnett and Hustedt found "mixed, but generally positive, evidence regarding Head Start's long-term benefits. Although studies typically find that increases in IQ fade out over time, many other studies also find decreases in grade retention and special education placements. Sustained increases in school achievement are sometimes found, but in other cases flawed research methods produce results that mimic fade-out. In recent years, the federal government has funded large-scale evaluations of Head Start and Early Head Start. Results from the Early Head Start evaluation are particularly informative, as study participants were randomly assigned to either the Early Head Start group or a control group. Early Head Start demonstrated modest improvements in children's development and parent beliefs and behavior."<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Barnett, W. Steven |author2=Hustedt, Jason T. |title= Head Start's Lasting Benefits |journal=Infants & Young Children |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=16–24 |date=January–March 2005 |doi=10.1097/00001163-200501000-00003|citeseerx=10.1.1.644.8716 |s2cid=7617558 }}</ref>

A 1995 within–family analysis compared subjects with nonparticipant siblings. Mothers who had themselves been enrolled in Head Start were compared to adult sisters who were not. Currie and Thomas separately analyzed white, black and Hispanic participants. White children showed larger and longer lasting improvements than black children.<ref name="CurrieThomas">{{cite journal |last1=Currie |first1=Janet |last2=Thomas |first2=Duncan |title=Does Head Start Make a Difference? |journal=[[American Economic Review]] |date=September 1998 |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=341–364 |doi=10.3386/w4406 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2321490 |access-date=14 May 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref>

"Head Start Fade", in which significant initial impacts quickly fade, has often been observed, as early as second and third grade.<ref name="Valerie E. Lee, Susanna Loeb 62–82">{{cite journal |author1=Valerie E. Lee |author2=Susanna Loeb |title= Where Do Head Start Attendees End up? One Reason Why Preschool Effects Fade Out | journal= Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=62–82 |date=Spring 1995 |doi=10.2307/1164270|jstor=1164270 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author= S. Barnett |title= Does Head Start Fade Out? |journal= Education Week |volume= 5 |page= 40 |year= 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = S. Barnett | title= Long Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Cognitive and School Outcomes | journal = The Future of Children |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=25–50 |date=Winter 1995 | doi=10.2307/1602366| jstor= 1602366 }}</ref> One hypothesis is that the decline is because Head Start participants are likely to attend lower-quality schools, which fail to reinforce Head Start gains.<ref name="Valerie E. Lee, Susanna Loeb 62–82"/> Fryer and Levitt found no evidence that Head Start participation had lasting effect on test scores in the early years of school.<ref>{{citation|last1=Fryer|title=Understanding the blacK-white test score gap in the first two years of school|url=http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/FryerLevittUnderstandingTheBlack2004.pdf|year=2004|publisher=University of Chicago|last2=Levitt}}</ref>

A 2010 report by the [[Department of Health and Human Services]], ''Head Start Impact'', examined the cognitive development, social-emotional development, and physical health outcomes of 4,667<ref name=nj14/> three- and four-year-old children in a nationally representative sample of programs across 23 states. Children were randomly assigned to either a Head Start group (participants) or a non-Head Start group (control group). The children in the two groups were similar in all measured characteristics at program entry. Pre-participation assessments of all critical outcome measures were taken. Control group children optionally enrolled in non-Head Start programs. Nearly half of the control-group children enrolled in other preschool programs. Outcome measures covered cognitive development, social-emotional development, health status and access to health care, and parenting practices. Head Start students were split into two cohorts – 3-year-olds with two years of Head Start and 4-year-olds with one year of Head Start.<ref name=nj14/> The study found:
* Participants showed positive effects in cognitive skills during their Head Start years, including letter-naming, vocabulary, letter-word identification and applied math problems,<ref name=nj14/> although the "advantages children gained during their Head Start and age 4 years yielded only a few statistically significant differences in outcomes at the end of 1st grade for the sample as a whole. Impacts at the end of kindergarten were scattered. ... "<ref name=weigel/> The gains applied to different skills across cohorts and grades, undermining generalizations about program impacts.<ref name=nj14/>
* Participants showed fewer significant improvements in social and behavioral skills, even in the Head Start year, with inconsistent results between the three- and four-year-old cohorts. The four-year-old cohort showed no significant improvement in the Head Start year or kindergarten, but in third grade, parents reported a significant reduction in total problem behavior and social and behavioral skills. Three-year-olds showed multiple, significant improvements in social and behavioral skills, but only for outcomes assessed by parents. Significant negative effects emerged in teacher relationships as rated by first-grade and third-grade teachers; and no significant positive effects for this cohort were reported by teachers for any elementary year.<ref name=nj14/>
* By the end of first grade, only "a single cognitive impact was found for each cohort". Compared to students in the control group, the 4-year-old Head Start cohort did "significantly better" on vocabulary and the 3-year-old cohort tested better in oral comprehension.<ref name=weigel/>
* Head Start had significant health-related effects, especially in increasing the number of children receiving dental care and having health-insurance coverage. These effects were not consistent, however. For example, while participants increased health-insurance coverage, it did not extend into the third-grade year for either cohort. Parenting practice changes were significant, but applied only to the three-year-old cohort. Most related to discipline, such as reduced spanking or time-outs. The spanking outcome occurred did not last into the first grade. The significant effect on parental reading to children did not last into kindergarten.<ref name=nj14/>

The HSIS study concludes, "Head Start has benefits for both 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds in the cognitive, health, and parenting domains, and for 3-year-olds in the social-emotional domain. However, the benefits of access to Head Start at age four are largely absent by 1st grade for the program population as a whole. For 3-year-olds, there are few sustained benefits, although access to the program may lead to improved parent-child relationships through 1st grade, a potentially important finding for children's longer-term development."<ref name=weigel>{{cite web |last= Weigel |first= Margaret |date= August 11, 2011 |url = http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/civil-rights/head-start-study/ |title = Head Start Impact: Department of Health and Human Services Report |publisher = Journalist's Resource.org }}</ref>

In an op-ed piece in ''The New York Times'', "Head Start Falls Further Behind", Besharov and Call discuss a 1998 evaluation that led to a national reevaluation of the program. The authors stated that research concluded that the current program had little meaningful impact.<ref>{{cite news
| title=Head Start Falls Further Behind
| first1=Douglas J. |last1=Besharov |first2=Douglas M. |last2=Call
| date=February 7, 2009
| work= The New York Times
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/opinion/08besharov.html
| access-date=February 8, 2011}}</ref>

In 2011, ''Time'' magazine's columnist [[Joe Klein]] called for the elimination of Head Start, citing an internal report that the program is costly and makes a negligible impact on children's well-being over time. Klein wrote, "You take the million or so poorest 3- and 4-year-old children and give them a leg up on socialization and education by providing preschool for them; if it works, it saves money in the long run by producing fewer criminals and welfare recipients ... it is now 45 years later. We spend more than $7 billion providing Head Start to nearly 1 million children each year. And finally there is indisputable evidence about the program's effectiveness, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services: Head Start simply does not work."<ref>{{cite magazine|url = http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2081778,00.html#ixzz1UqSuspUQ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110709225617/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2081778,00.html#ixzz1UqSuspUQ |url-status = dead |archive-date = July 9, 2011 |title = Time to Ax Public Programs That Don't Yield Results |magazine = Time | first=Joe |last=Klein |date=July 7, 2011}}</ref>

[[W. Steven Barnett]], director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at [[Rutgers University]], rebutted Klein, "Weighing all of the evidence and not just that cited by partisans on one side or the other, the most accurate conclusion is that Head Start produces modest benefits including some long-term gains for children."<ref>Valerie Strauss, "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/05/does-head-start-work-for-kids-the-bottom-line/ Does Head Start work for kids? The bottom line]", [[The Washington Post]], March 5, 2013.</ref>

== Access ==
There is not enough [[Social programs in the United States|government funding]] to provide Head Start for all eligible families, so to enroll in Head Start, families must apply and then be chosen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How to Apply {{!}} ECLKC|url=https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/how-apply|access-date=2021-05-10|website=eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, there were 1 million children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start, but there were about 19 million children under five in the United States and around 3 million children under five living in poverty.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Hotz|first1=V. Joseph|last2=Wiswall|first2=Matthew|date=2019|title=Child Care and Child Care Policy: Existing Policies, Their Effects, and Reforms|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716219884078|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=686|issue=1|pages=310–338|doi=10.1177/0002716219884078|s2cid=210683897 |issn=0002-7162}}</ref>

Head Start covers families living below the federal poverty line, but there 65% of children under the age of 6 having both their parents (or one parent, if they are a single parent) in the workforce.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Farquhar|first=Sarah-Eve|date=January 1989|title=Assessing New Zealand child day care quality using the early childhood environment rating scale (1)|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0300443890470105|journal=Early Child Development and Care|volume=47|issue=1|pages=93–105|doi=10.1080/0300443890470105|issn=0300-4430}}</ref> Hotz and Wiswall’s research found that for two-parent households, childcare is the most expensive [[Cost of raising a child|cost]] outside their rent or mortgage; in perspective, the median percent of income that goes towards childcare is 30%.<ref name=":0" />


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Early childhood education]]
* [[Arkansas Early Learning]]
* [[Compensatory Education]]
*[[SAIL Intervention]]
*[[Project STAR]]
* [[HighScope]]
* ''[[Jenny Is a Good Thing]]'', an Academy Award–nominated documentary on children and nutrition produced for Project Head Start
*[[Compensatory Education]]
* [[Project STAR]]
* [[Southwest Human Development]]
* [[Sure Start]]
* [[Upward Bound]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Scott Stossel. ''Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver,'' 2004, Smithsonian Books, Washington.


==External links==
==External links==
===US government—Administration for Children & Families===
* [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/index.html Office of Head Start] (official)
* {{official}}
* [http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/ Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center] (official)
* [http://www.nhsa.org/ National Head Start Association] (official)
* [https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs Office of Head Start]
* [https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/ Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center] (official)
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9218/head.htm The Head Start Experience]
* [https://www.acf.hhs.gov/oro/regional-offices Office of Regional Operations]
*[http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/search.tkl?q=head+start&search_crit=title&search=Search&date1=Anytime&date2=Anytime&type=form Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Head Start]
*[http://www.clasp.org/issues?type=child_care_and_early_education The Center for Law and Social Policy]
* [http://www.nber.org/digest/mar05/w10452.html National Bureau of Economic Research]


===Head Start Associations===
[[Category:Great Society programs]]
* [http://www.nhsa.org/ National Head Start Association]
* [https://www.newenglandheadstart.org/ New England Head Start (Region 1)]
* [https://www.region2headstart.org/ Region 2 Head Start]
* [https://paheadstart.org/head-start-national-information/region-iii-association/ Region III Head Start]
* [https://www.rivhsa.org/ Region IV Head Start]
* [http://ilheadstart.org/region-v/ Region V Head Start]
* [https://reg6hsa.org/ Region VI Head Start]
* [https://www.r7hsa.com/ Region 7 Head Start]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/regionviiiheadstartassociation/ Region VIII Head Start]
* [https://www.region9hsa.org/ Region 9 Head Start]

===General Information===
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9218/head.htm The Head Start Experience] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225214257/http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9218/head.htm |date=December 25, 2016 }}
* [https://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/search.tkl?q=head+start&search_crit=title&search=Search&date1=Anytime&date2=Anytime&type=form Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Head Start]
* [http://www.clasp.org/issues?type=child_care_and_early_education The Center for Law and Social Policy]
* [https://www.nber.org/digest/mar05/w10452.html National Bureau of Economic Research]
* [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_75-440rz1b6 ''NET Journal'' documentary "Head Start in Mississippi" from 1967] at the [[American Archive of Public Broadcasting]]

{{Lyndon B. Johnson}}
{{Contemporary social welfare programs in the United States|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Administration for Children and Families programs]]
[[Category:Early childhood education in the United States]]
[[Category:Early childhood education in the United States]]
[[Category:Early childhood educational organizations]]
[[Category:Education in the United States]]
[[Category:Education in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services]]
[[Category:Great Society programs]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in the United States]]

[[Category:Federal assistance in the United States]]
[[de:Head Start]]
[[fr:Head Start]]
[[ja:ヘッドスタート]]

Latest revision as of 07:47, 26 November 2024

Washtenaw County, Michigan Head Start school in Superior Township

Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the oldest and largest program of its kind.[1] The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and emotional well-being, and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from preschool to elementary school imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.[2]

Launched in 1965[3] by its creator and first director Jule Sugarman and Bernice H. Fleiss, Head Start was originally conceived as a catch-up summer school program that would teach low-income children in a few weeks what they needed to know to start elementary school. The Head Start Act of 1981[4] expanded the program.[5] The program was revised and reauthorized in December 2007. As of late 2005, more than 22 million children had participated. As of June 30, 2023, the current director of Head Start is Dr. Khari Garvin.[6]

History

[edit]
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson visits a Head Start class in 1966

Head Start began as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society campaign. Its justification came from the staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.[7] Stan Salett, civil rights organizer, national education policy adviser, and creator of the Upward Bound Program, is also credited with initiating the Head Start program.[citation needed]

Johnson started the War on Poverty shortly after President Kennedy's assassination. The murder shook the nation, and Johnson attempted to gain public trust by passing legacy legislation during the subsequent months. Johnson received an initial briefing from Walter Heller, who informed Johnson of Kennedy's poverty program. By March 1964, the legislation, now known as the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, had been prepared for Congress. The legislation included training, educational, and service programs for communities, including the Job Corps.[8]

The Office of Economic Opportunity's Community Action Program launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. The program was led by Dr. Robert Cooke, a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Edward Zigler, a professor of psychology and director of the Yale Child Study Center. They designed a comprehensive child development program intended to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. Rather than proceeding with a smaller pilot program, the decision was made to roll it out on a large scale with the enrollment of 500,000 children in 2,500 communities.[9] The following year it was authorized by Congress as a year–round program. In 1968, Head Start began funding a television series that would eventually be called Sesame Street, operated by the Carnegie Corporation Children's Television Workshop (CTW).[citation needed]

In 1969, Head Start was transferred to the Office of Child Development in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (later the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)) by the Nixon Administration. Today the program is in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) division of DHHS.[citation needed]

In 1994, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to age three, in an effort to capitalize on research evidence that showed that the first three years are critical to children's long-term development.[citation needed]

In the early years, some 700,000 children enrolled at a per-capita cost of $2,000 to $3,000 (2011 dollars). Under the full-time program, enrollment dropped to under 400,000 by the early 1970s. Enrollment reached close to 1 million children by 2011. The program has experienced underfunding and under-enrollment in recent years.[10] In 2023, there were about 820,000 children enrolled in the program.[11]

Policy Council

[edit]

The Head Start Policy Council makes up part of the Head Start governing body. Policy Council must be composed of two types of representatives: parents of currently enrolled children and community representatives. At least 51% of the members of this group must be the parents of currently enrolled children (see 45 CFR 1306.3(h) for a definition of a Head Start Parent). All parent members of the Policy Council stand for election or re-election annually through individual parent groups. Grantees/Delegates are required to provide proportionate representation to parents in all program options and settings. If agencies operate programs serving different geographical regions or ethnic groups, they must ensure that all groups being served will have an equal opportunity to serve on the Policy Council. The Policy Council is required to meet once each month. The term follows the federal government fiscal year, running November–November. Service on the Policy Council board is limited to at most five one year terms.[12] The meetings are conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules. The meeting day and time is agreed upon during the first meeting of the term year and may be adjusted as needed.[citation needed]

The Policy Council approval is needed for several program functions, from new hires to the program, as well as for the budget and spending. The Council can serve the program in ways that the others in the program cannot, as it is the only body that is part of Head Start that can do fundraising. In addition to monthly meetings, Policy Council may at times need to hold special or emergency meetings or have a phone vote. Policy Council representatives are required to attend classroom meetings and report back to the Policy Council with issues and needs of the classroom. They may also be asked to sit in on interviews as Head Start requires that a Policy Council representative be present for all interviews. The officers of Policy Council include vice-chairperson, secretary, and vice-secretary. Classrooms are also able to elect alternate Policy Council reps in case the main rep is unable to attend the meetings.[citation needed]

Services and programs

[edit]

Head Start serves over 1 million children and their families each year in urban and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories. Related health services include health screenings and check-ups, eye examinations and dental check-ups. Meals and snacks are also provided, which can help ease financial pressure on families and improve children's diets. Family advocates assist parents in accessing community resources. All services are specific to each family's culture and experience. Head Start programs also seek to support children's social emotional development.[citation needed]

Programs and services include:[citation needed]

  • Early Head Start promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, healthy families, as well as infant and toddler development beginning as early as birth.
  • Head Start helps to create healthy development and early childhood education in low-income children ages three to five.
  • Family and Community Partnerships engage and support parents to identify and meet their own goals, nurture their children, and advocate for communities that support children and families.
  • Migrant and Seasonal services are for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Service hours are longer and programs extend for fewer months than traditional Head Start.
  • Head Start serves indigenous Americans with centers on reservations and in urban communities.[13][14]
  • Homeless children were included explicitly as subjects with the 2007 re-authorization.[15] Programs must identify and provide services to homeless children of all ages within a reasonable period. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001[16] also requires access to early childhood education such as Head Start for homeless children and families.

Eligibility

[edit]

Eligibility is largely income-based, although each local program includes other eligibility criteria, such as disabilities and services needed by other family members. Families must earn less than 100% of the federal poverty level. Programs may accept up to 10% of the total children over poverty given the program has unfilled spots and the over poverty is less than 130%.[citation needed]

2023 Federal Poverty Level[17]
Family Size Income
2 $19,720
3 $24,860
4 $30,000
5 $35,140
6 $40,280
7 $45,420
8 $50,560

The federal poverty line measure is not absolute, and it changes yearly to account for inflation.[18] Families may also qualify under a categorical eligibility category—receipt of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),[19] Supplemental Security funds, or Homeless, as per the McKinney-Vento Act. Up to 10% of any funded program's enrollment can be from higher income families or families experiencing emergency situations. All programs are required to provide services to children with disabilities, who must comprise 10% of their total enrollment. Per the Head Start Act (2007), programs may elect to serve families whose income is between 100-130% under certain circumstances. Programs must also complete additional reporting requirements if this is appropriate for their community.[citation needed]

Military families stationed abroad can apply for Sure Start.[20] Sure Start is the military version of Head Start and is overseen by the Department of Defense Education Activity.[21] There are four priority tiers for Sure Start, and like Head Start, not all eligible families are guaranteed a spot. The tiers are based on the sponsor's rank and are, in order, E1-E4, E5, E6-E7, and E8-E9.[20]


HHS POVERTY REGISTER[22]
YEAR First Person Each Additional Person Four Person Family Page with Complete Details
2023 $14,580 $5,140 ($30,000) Federal Register 2023
2022 $13,590 $4,720 ($27,750) Federal Register 2022
2021 $12,880 $4,540 ($26,500) Federal Register 2021
2020 $12,760 $4,480 ($26,200) Federal Register 2020
2019 $12,490 $4,420 ($25,750) Federal Register 2019
2018 $12,140 $4,320 ($25,100) Federal Register 2018
2017 $12,060 $4,180 ($24,600) Federal Register 2017
2016 $11,880 Varies ($24,300) Federal Register 2016
2015 $11,770 $4,160 ($24,250) Federal Register 2015
2014 $11,670 $4,060 ($23,850) Federal Register 2014
2013 $11,490 $4,020 ($23,550) Federal Register 2013
2012 $11,170 $3,960 ($23,050) Federal Register 2012
2011 10,890 3,820 ( 22,350) Federal Register 2011
2010 10,830 3,740 ( 22,050) Federal Register 2010 (Jan)Federal Register 2010 (Aug)
2009 10,830 3,740 ( 22,050) Federal Register 2009
2008 10,400 3,600 ( 21,200) Federal Register 2008
2007 10,210 3,480 ( 20,650) Federal Register 2007
2006 9,800 3,400 ( 20,000) Federal Register 2006
2005 9,570 3,260 ( 19,350) Federal Register 2005
2004 9,310 3,180 ( 18,850) Federal Register 2004
2003 8,980 3,140 ( 18,400) Federal Register 2003
2002 8,860 3,080 ( 18,100) Federal Register 2002
2001 8,590 3,020 ( 17,650) Federal Register 2001
2000 8,350 2,900 ( 17,050) Federal Register 2000
1999 8,240 2,820 ( 16,700) Federal Register 1999
1998 8,050 2,800 ( 16,450) Federal Register 1998
1997 7,890 2,720 ( 16,050) Federal Register 1997
1996 7,740 2,620 ( 15,600) Federal Register 1996
1995 7,470 2,560 ( 15,150) Federal Register 1995
1994 7,360 2,480 ( 14,800) Federal Register 1994
1993 6,970 2,460 ( 14,350) Federal Register 1993
1992 6,810 2,380 ( 13,950) Federal Register 1992
1991 6,620 2,260 ( 13,400) Federal Register 1991
1990 6,280 2,140 ( 12,700) Federal Register 1990
1989 5,980 2,040 ( 12,100) Federal Register 1989
1988 5,770 1,960 ( 11,650) Federal Register 1988
1987 5,500 1,900 ( 11,200) Federal Register 1987
1986 5,360 1,880 ( 11,000) Federal Register 1986
1985 5,250 1,800 ( 10,650) Federal Register 1985
1984 4,980 1,740 ( 10,200) Federal Register 1984
1983 4,860 1,680 ( 9,900) Federal Register 1983
1982 4,680 1,540 ( 9,300) Federal Register 1982

Budget and funding

[edit]

The 2011 federal budget for Head Start was $8.1 billion. 85% was to be devoted to direct services and no more than 15% on administration, serving approximately one million students. The budget was $12 billion in 2023.[23]

Local grantees must provide a 20% cash/in-kind match.[24] Each local grantee is required to obtain an annual financial audit, if it receives more than $500,000 in federal support.

Grants are awarded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Offices and the American Indian – Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal Program Branches directly to local public agencies, private organizations, Indian tribes and school systems.[25]

The individual Head Start classrooms/centers "repay" the grant through a program known as InKind. The Inkind program is a way to get their parents and their students working together on out of class studies.[citation needed]

Teachers

[edit]

All lead teachers must have a bachelor's degree or be working towards one. Most have completed six or more courses in early-childhood education.[26] By 2013, all teachers were to have associate degrees in a related field and half must have bachelor's degrees.[27][28]

As of 2003, the average Head Start teacher made $21,000 per year, compared to the public school teacher average of $43,000.[29]

Teachers are also required to complete a (CDA) Child Development Associate certificate.[citation needed]

Operations

[edit]

While Head Start is a national program, the implementation is up to individual states.[30] Head Start programs typically operate independently from local school districts. Most often they are administered through local social-services agencies. Classes are generally small, with fewer than ten enrollees per adult staff member. Individual programs develop their own academic and social curricula, following federal performance standards.[26]

Impact

[edit]
Angel Taveras speaks about how Head Start changed his life as a child.

A 2020 study found that cohorts that attended Head Start had higher incomes and years of education as adults than similar children who did not attend.[31] A 2021 study found that the children exposed to more generous Head Start funding had substantially improved test scores relative to children that were not exposed to generous Head Start funding.[32] Another 2021 study found that students enrolled in Head Start ended up having substantially higher high school completion, college enrollment and college completion rates than comparable children who were not enrolled in Head Start.[33] The authors of the study concluded, "these estimates imply sizable, long-term returns to investments in means-tested, public preschool programs."[33] A 2009 study, which compared siblings, found that those who attended Head Start showed stronger academic performance as shown on test scores for years afterward, were less likely to be diagnosed as learning-disabled, less likely to commit crime, more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, and less likely to suffer from poor health as an adult.[34] This study was replicated in a 2020 study which looked at 10 additional birth cohorts, and found a negligible impact.[1]

A 2022 study found that Head Start increased the employment and earnings of single mothers.[35]

In 2015, CCR Analytics, formerly Child Care Analytics, published the results of their Family Outcomes Survey completed by nearly 11,600 California Head Start and Early Head Start parents. 90% of parents surveyed said that Head Start helped them to get or keep a job. 92% of parents surveyed said that Head Start helped them to enroll in an educational or training program. 99% of families surveyed said that Head Start helped them to improve their parenting skills, such as responding to children's misbehavior and helping their children to learn. These results indicate that Head Start has a positive impact on the whole family, beyond the individual children who attend the program.[36]

In 2014, CCR Analytics published the results of their study of 49,467 children assessed in the 2012–2013 school year from 81 Head Start programs throughout the state of California (more than 50% of the entire California Head Start population). Participation in the study was open to all California Head Start programs who used the DRDP-PS 2010 assessment tool. The study found that providing two years of Head Start to a child increases the probability by between 13% and 86% that the child will meet age appropriate expectations. Regression discontinuity design was used to measure program impact without denying a control group the opportunity to attend Head Start. The analysis compared three-year-olds enrolled in Head Start to four-year-olds who returned to Head Start for their second year. This also eliminated the issue of selection bias because both groups chose to attend Head Start as three-year-olds.[37]

A randomized control study of the pre-k program serving socioeconomically disadvantaged children in Tennessee found short-term gains in language, literacy and math outcomes for pre-k participants compared with children who did not participate, which was also confirmed by a discontinuity analysis (Lip, Farran, Bilbrey, Hofer, & Dong, 2011).[citation needed]

Lee collected data across sixty Head Start classrooms in 2007 and 2008. A sample of 1,260 children ages three to four were selected as the final sample. Of these children, 446 had entered Head Start at age 3 and enrolled for a year (Group 1); 498 had been entered at age 4 and enrolled for a year (Group 2); and 316 children had been enrolled for 2 years, entering at age 3 (Group 3). Academic outcome measures in literacy, math and science were collected based on the Head Start and Early Childhood Program Observational Checklist rating on a 4-point scale (1—not yet to 4—excels. Family risk factor indicators (developed by the State Department of Education) included single parent, unemployed parent, teenage parent, parental loss (divorce/death), low parental school achievement, food insufficiency. Group 3 had higher literacy, math and science scores than the other groups. Children in the high-risk group had significantly lower literacy, math, and science scores than those who had three or fewer risk factors. Head Start is associated with significant gains in test scores. Head Start significantly reduces the probability that a child will repeat a grade.[38]

In 2002, Garces, Thomas and Currie used data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to review outcomes for close to 4,000 participating adults followed from childhood and compared with non-participant siblings. Among European Americans, adults who had attended Head Start were significantly more likely to complete high school, attend college and possibly have higher earnings in their early twenties. African-American adults who had attended Head Start were significantly less likely to be booked/charged for a crime. Head Start may increase the likelihood that African-American males graduate from high school. Separately the authors noted larger effects for younger siblings who attended Head Start after an older sibling.[39]

In 1998, Congress mandated an intensive study of the effectiveness of Head Start, the "Head Start Impact Study," which studied a target population of 5,000 3- and 4-year-old children.[40] The study measured Head Start's effectiveness as compared to other forms of community support and educational intervention, as opposed to comparing Head Start to a nonintervention alternative. Head Start Impact Study First Year Findings were released in June 2005. Study participants were assigned to either Head Start or other parent–selected community resources for one year. 60% of the children in the control group were placed in other preschools. The first report showed consistent small to moderate advantages to 3-year-old children including pre-reading, pre-vocabulary and parent reports of children's literacy skills. No significant impacts were found for oral comprehension, phonological awareness, or early mathematics skills for either age group. Fewer positive benefits were found for 4-year-olds. The benefits improved with early participation and varied across racial and ethnic groups. These analyses did not assess the benefits' durability.[41]

In 1975, Seitz, Abelson, Levine and Zigler compared disadvantaged children enrolled and not enrolled in Head Start, using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). The participants were low-income inner-city black children whose unemployed, economically disadvantaged parents were considered unskilled. The Head Start children had attended for at least five months at the time of testing, including nine boys and 11 girls. The non-enrolled group was on the Head Start waiting list. The control group consisted of 11 boys and nine girls. The groups were matched by family income, parental employment and marital status. The tester tested children at home and in a school or office setting. The Head Start children scored higher than the controls in both settings, which suggested preschool intervention programs may have influenced the result. The controls tested at home scored the lowest, apparently due to anxiety from having an unfamiliar person in their homes. The Head Start children were unaffected by the environmental factor. In evaluating this study vs. others, the relatively small sample size should be noted: 20 children vs. thousands in other studies.[42]

A 2005 review of the literature by Barnett and Hustedt found "mixed, but generally positive, evidence regarding Head Start's long-term benefits. Although studies typically find that increases in IQ fade out over time, many other studies also find decreases in grade retention and special education placements. Sustained increases in school achievement are sometimes found, but in other cases flawed research methods produce results that mimic fade-out. In recent years, the federal government has funded large-scale evaluations of Head Start and Early Head Start. Results from the Early Head Start evaluation are particularly informative, as study participants were randomly assigned to either the Early Head Start group or a control group. Early Head Start demonstrated modest improvements in children's development and parent beliefs and behavior."[43]

A 1995 within–family analysis compared subjects with nonparticipant siblings. Mothers who had themselves been enrolled in Head Start were compared to adult sisters who were not. Currie and Thomas separately analyzed white, black and Hispanic participants. White children showed larger and longer lasting improvements than black children.[44]

"Head Start Fade", in which significant initial impacts quickly fade, has often been observed, as early as second and third grade.[45][46][47] One hypothesis is that the decline is because Head Start participants are likely to attend lower-quality schools, which fail to reinforce Head Start gains.[45] Fryer and Levitt found no evidence that Head Start participation had lasting effect on test scores in the early years of school.[48]

A 2010 report by the Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start Impact, examined the cognitive development, social-emotional development, and physical health outcomes of 4,667[26] three- and four-year-old children in a nationally representative sample of programs across 23 states. Children were randomly assigned to either a Head Start group (participants) or a non-Head Start group (control group). The children in the two groups were similar in all measured characteristics at program entry. Pre-participation assessments of all critical outcome measures were taken. Control group children optionally enrolled in non-Head Start programs. Nearly half of the control-group children enrolled in other preschool programs. Outcome measures covered cognitive development, social-emotional development, health status and access to health care, and parenting practices. Head Start students were split into two cohorts – 3-year-olds with two years of Head Start and 4-year-olds with one year of Head Start.[26] The study found:

  • Participants showed positive effects in cognitive skills during their Head Start years, including letter-naming, vocabulary, letter-word identification and applied math problems,[26] although the "advantages children gained during their Head Start and age 4 years yielded only a few statistically significant differences in outcomes at the end of 1st grade for the sample as a whole. Impacts at the end of kindergarten were scattered. ... "[49] The gains applied to different skills across cohorts and grades, undermining generalizations about program impacts.[26]
  • Participants showed fewer significant improvements in social and behavioral skills, even in the Head Start year, with inconsistent results between the three- and four-year-old cohorts. The four-year-old cohort showed no significant improvement in the Head Start year or kindergarten, but in third grade, parents reported a significant reduction in total problem behavior and social and behavioral skills. Three-year-olds showed multiple, significant improvements in social and behavioral skills, but only for outcomes assessed by parents. Significant negative effects emerged in teacher relationships as rated by first-grade and third-grade teachers; and no significant positive effects for this cohort were reported by teachers for any elementary year.[26]
  • By the end of first grade, only "a single cognitive impact was found for each cohort". Compared to students in the control group, the 4-year-old Head Start cohort did "significantly better" on vocabulary and the 3-year-old cohort tested better in oral comprehension.[49]
  • Head Start had significant health-related effects, especially in increasing the number of children receiving dental care and having health-insurance coverage. These effects were not consistent, however. For example, while participants increased health-insurance coverage, it did not extend into the third-grade year for either cohort. Parenting practice changes were significant, but applied only to the three-year-old cohort. Most related to discipline, such as reduced spanking or time-outs. The spanking outcome occurred did not last into the first grade. The significant effect on parental reading to children did not last into kindergarten.[26]

The HSIS study concludes, "Head Start has benefits for both 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds in the cognitive, health, and parenting domains, and for 3-year-olds in the social-emotional domain. However, the benefits of access to Head Start at age four are largely absent by 1st grade for the program population as a whole. For 3-year-olds, there are few sustained benefits, although access to the program may lead to improved parent-child relationships through 1st grade, a potentially important finding for children's longer-term development."[49]

In an op-ed piece in The New York Times, "Head Start Falls Further Behind", Besharov and Call discuss a 1998 evaluation that led to a national reevaluation of the program. The authors stated that research concluded that the current program had little meaningful impact.[50]

In 2011, Time magazine's columnist Joe Klein called for the elimination of Head Start, citing an internal report that the program is costly and makes a negligible impact on children's well-being over time. Klein wrote, "You take the million or so poorest 3- and 4-year-old children and give them a leg up on socialization and education by providing preschool for them; if it works, it saves money in the long run by producing fewer criminals and welfare recipients ... it is now 45 years later. We spend more than $7 billion providing Head Start to nearly 1 million children each year. And finally there is indisputable evidence about the program's effectiveness, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services: Head Start simply does not work."[51]

W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, rebutted Klein, "Weighing all of the evidence and not just that cited by partisans on one side or the other, the most accurate conclusion is that Head Start produces modest benefits including some long-term gains for children."[52]

Access

[edit]

There is not enough government funding to provide Head Start for all eligible families, so to enroll in Head Start, families must apply and then be chosen.[53] In 2017, there were 1 million children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start, but there were about 19 million children under five in the United States and around 3 million children under five living in poverty.[54]

Head Start covers families living below the federal poverty line, but there 65% of children under the age of 6 having both their parents (or one parent, if they are a single parent) in the workforce.[54][55] Hotz and Wiswall’s research found that for two-parent households, childcare is the most expensive cost outside their rent or mortgage; in perspective, the median percent of income that goes towards childcare is 30%.[54]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Pages, Remy; Lukes, Dylan J.; Bailey, Drew H.; Duncan, Greg J. (December 2020). "Elusive Longer-Run Impacts of Head Start: Replications Within and Across Cohorts". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 42 (4): 471–492. doi:10.3102/0162373720948884. ISSN 0162-3737. S2CID 85530116.
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Further reading

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  • Scott Stossel. Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver, 2004, Smithsonian Books, Washington.
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US government—Administration for Children & Families

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Head Start Associations

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General Information

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